This is where I pick up the Light Rail in the morning to head to the MARC train for my daily…read moresojourn into the world of work. It's okay, I guess - the location works very well for me since it's only a 2 minute walk to the house and back, but there are issues with this station for me:
- It's just creepy, to put it bluntly. The stop is not very well lit, which makes it really, really unnerving in the early morning. Add a huge abandoned building looming over the southbound side (it used to be the Planned Parenthood headquarters) and it's enough to make your skin crawl sometimes. Safety is a real concern here, especially if you're alone waiting for the train. There are a few folks that like to sleep under the roof at the Greyhound building across the street, too, and while they don't bother anyone, I have seen some suspicious looking characters from time to time. Be careful.
- Constant improvements going on, which you would think would be a good thing. However, when half of the sidewalks are ripped up or blocked off, etc., it makes navigation of an already creepy area difficult. They just painted the benches because of the constant graffiti.
That is one thing that I've noticed, though - whoever patrols this area makes sure that graffiti and other undesirable elements are usually removed right away. This area gets a lot of spray painted crap everywhere, but it's also gone pretty much the next day. I don't know who's keeping up with it, but it's appreciated.
It's not bad, but be careful in the early morning(s) if you have to wait here by yourself. I would highly recommend waiting with someone you know, if you can. They do occasionally have transit police waiting here toward the weekends, which is good.
On occasion, I've seen rats running on the tracks here in broad daylight. Ugh. Just a heads-up for those who may be squeamish about such things. (I know I am, heh.)